Raymond Carver Cathedral Point Of View
In Raymond Carver's Cathedral, perspective is the main tool used to characterize the speaker and those around him. The speaker's misconceptions regarding the other main characters drives the story forward, acting as a catalyst for the story's plot. Because the speaker is describing what he sees, and only reveals his own thoughts, the point of view is first person limited. Carver's use of the first person limited point of view greatly contributes to the climax of the story, and is imperative in understanding it's significance. The main character is married, and his wife has an old friend to visit them at their home. This friend is a man named Robert, he is blind and his wife has died fairly recently. The only name given is Robert's, leaving
the speaker and his wife completely anonymous. This gives the impression that this series of events could happen to anyone. Also, it creates a greater focus on Robert, drawing everyone's attention towards him. This anonymity of the speaker implies that he is not important, and that his only role is to be a storyteller. If the point of view was third person, for example, this anonymity would not have the same effect on the speaker, for it would draw more attention to the fact that only one main character has a name, rather than stress the fact that this story is being told through the eyes of a husband. Not only is the speaker limited to only his own thoughts, he is also an unreliable source. Throughout Robert's visit, starting as soon as he enters the speaker's home, they begin drinking alcohol. Robert and the speaker drink several times before and after dinner, and have more than seven drinks in total. After dinner, they even begin to smoke pot, much to the dismay of the speaker's wife. Because of this influence, the speaker's view of what happens may be skewed, and ultimately, inaccurate. Not only do the effects of alcohol and drugs impact the speaker's perception of the action in the story, but he is also very biased towards Robert. The speaker believes in many misconceptions regarding blind people, for example, when he says, ”But he didn't use a cane and he didn't wear dark glasses. I'd always thought dark glasses were a must for the blind." This stereotypical perception of blind people leads the speaker to seem as though he is a completely ignorant individual, for this is such a drastic misconception that it may be implied that this is not his only skewed generalization. Due to the fact that he may have other false perceptions beyond blind people, he becomes an unreliable narrator, for he shows signs of bias.
the speaker and his wife completely anonymous. This gives the impression that this series of events could happen to anyone. Also, it creates a greater focus on Robert, drawing everyone's attention towards him. This anonymity of the speaker implies that he is not important, and that his only role is to be a storyteller. If the point of view was third person, for example, this anonymity would not have the same effect on the speaker, for it would draw more attention to the fact that only one main character has a name, rather than stress the fact that this story is being told through the eyes of a husband. Not only is the speaker limited to only his own thoughts, he is also an unreliable source. Throughout Robert's visit, starting as soon as he enters the speaker's home, they begin drinking alcohol. Robert and the speaker drink several times before and after dinner, and have more than seven drinks in total. After dinner, they even begin to smoke pot, much to the dismay of the speaker's wife. Because of this influence, the speaker's view of what happens may be skewed, and ultimately, inaccurate. Not only do the effects of alcohol and drugs impact the speaker's perception of the action in the story, but he is also very biased towards Robert. The speaker believes in many misconceptions regarding blind people, for example, when he says, ”But he didn't use a cane and he didn't wear dark glasses. I'd always thought dark glasses were a must for the blind." This stereotypical perception of blind people leads the speaker to seem as though he is a completely ignorant individual, for this is such a drastic misconception that it may be implied that this is not his only skewed generalization. Due to the fact that he may have other false perceptions beyond blind people, he becomes an unreliable narrator, for he shows signs of bias.